Athens students camp in Syntagma Square over rents and study costs
Students from dozens of Athens student associations pitched tents in Syntagma Square on 13 October, planning an overnight sit-in over rents, dormitory shortages and the cost of studying.
A night camp in Syntagma Square
On 13 October 2026, members of dozens of Athens student associations set up tents, loudspeakers and a planned stage in Syntagma Square, opposite the Greek parliament, to turn the square into what they called a protest camp. The first tents went up around midday, after lectures and despite rain, and the students planned to stay through the night. Organisers said the sit-in would run until Wednesday morning, with a concert in the square. One later report said the concert had been postponed because of the weather. The protesters said their action drew inspiration from student and youth mobilisations in France and Spain, and a banner hung on the square's steps asked 'Study or survive?'.
- Students begin setting up tents in Syntagma Square after lectures, despite rain
- Scheduled march to the Ministry of Finance to submit demands
- Brief tension as students try to move toward Parliament; riot police block them
- Planned overnight stay in the square, scheduled to last until Wednesday morning
Rents, food and dormitories
The president of the student association of the School of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences put studio rents at 500 to 650 euros a month. Another student who took part in the protest said a 25-square-metre flat can cost about 400 euros a month, and that added electricity and food bills mean some months students count every coin. The president of the Philosophy student association described a 12-square-metre space in Zografou renting for 400 to 500 euros, while the student housing allowance stands at 125 euros. Nina Nifakou, president of the association at the School of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences, explained to Orange Press Agency why students had left their lectures for the square.
Students took our tents after classes and set them up here in Syntagma because the situation has really gotten out of hand.
Nifakou said existing dormitories cover less than 4% of student needs, and that students also pay for canteen meals and course materials out of their own pockets. Student groups said some students abandon their studies, and that some who passed the national university entrance exams cannot enrol or move to the city where their university is.
Demands and the planned march
The students want a cap on rents, the construction of new student dormitories and a higher student housing allowance. A wider list includes lower rents, more beneficiaries of the allowance, more dormitory places, higher state funding for universities, free meals, transport and internet for all students, and urgent renovation of existing dormitories. Their plan was a march at 18:00 to the Ministry of Finance, where they intended to submit their demands. One report instead said they gathered at the Ministry of Economy and Development in the afternoon and pasted their demands on its entrance, while a planned concert was postponed.
Evening tension and party reactions
Late in the evening, students tried to move toward Parliament to raise a giant banner. Riot police platoons (YMET) blocked them near the Megali Vretania hotel, and for a few minutes tension rose after they were told of a ban order from the Attica Police Directorate (GADA). No clash was reported. KKE general secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas posted a TikTok video linking the Athens camp to protests in Spain and France, and warned the government of a 'hot fighting winter'. In the video he said the students did not come to the square for a holiday.
The students did not set up tents to go on holiday. They set them up because they refuse to make their lives a permanent survival camp.
Koutsoumbas also said the party stands with the students in their fight for studies and a life with rights.
